Biography
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Members
- Bill Pitman
- David Burk
- Joe Osborn
- Tom Scott
There is more than one artist with this name, including:
1) The Wrecking Crew was the name given to an American backing band collective based in Los Angeles and active through the 1960s and 1970s.
2) The Wrecking Crew was a Steve Douglas dance act active during the 1980s.
3) The Wrecking Crew was the name used by a British backing orchestra active through the 1990s and 2000s.
4) The Wrecking Crew was an American band from San Diego.
1) The Wrecking Crew was a nickname coined by the drummer Hal Blaine for a group of elite session musicians in Los Angeles, California, who earned wide acclaim in the 1960s. The group's ranks began to materialize in the late 1950s, but in the early 1960s they fully coalesced into what became their most recognizable form when they became the de facto house band for Phil Spector, playing on many of the hits that he produced at the time, and contributing to the development of his Wall of Sound production methods. After the initial success of Spector's records, they became the most requested session musicians in Los Angeles, playing behind many popular recording artists such as Jan & Dean, Sonny & Cher, Barry McGuire, the Mamas & the Papas, Frank Sinatra, and Nancy Sinatra. They were sometimes used as "ghost players" on recordings credited to rock groups, such as the Byrds' debut hit rendition of Bob Dylan's "Mr. Tambourine Man" (1965), as well as the first two albums by the Monkees, and the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966).
The Wrecking Crew was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame on November 26, 2007.
List of members by instrument:
Electric bass: Max Bennett, Red Callender, Carol Kaye, Larry Knechtel, Joe Osborn, Bill Pitman, Ray Pohlman, Bob West
Double bass (upright bass): Chuck Berghofer, Jimmy Bond, Lyle Ritz
Conductor and arranger: Jack Nitzsche
Drums: Hal Blaine, John Clauder, Joe Porcaro, Jim Gordon, Jim Keltner, Earl Palmer
Guitar: Bill Aken, Doug Bartenfeld, Dennis Budimer, James Burton, Glen Campbell, Al Casey, David Cohen, Jerry Cole, Mike Deasy, John Goldthwaite, Rene Hall, Carol Kaye, Barney Kessel, Lou Morrell, Don Peake, Bill Pitman, Ray Pohlman, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John), Howard Roberts, Irv Rubins, Louie Shelton, Billy Strange, Tommy Tedesco, Al Vescovo, Vinnie Bell, P.F. Sloan
Harmonica: Tommy Morgan
Keyboards: Al De Lory, Larry Knechtel, Mike Melvoin, Don Randi, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John), Mike (Michel) Rubini, Leon Russell
Percussion: Larry Bunker, Frank Capp, Gary L. Coleman, Gene Estes, Victor Feldman, Milt Holland, Joe Porcaro, Julius Wechter – Note: though not usually mentioned as an actual member of the Wrecking Crew, Sonny Bono contributed percussion to some of their sessions for Phil Spector. Max Weinberg in his book “The Big Beat” does include Bono in a list of members of the Wrecking Crew as “percussion” and Bono appears in the photograph labeled, “The Wreckng Crew” on p. 79 of the book,
Saxophone: Allan Buetler, Gene Cipriano, Steve Douglas, Bill Green, Jim Horn, Plas Johnson, Jackie Kelso, Jay Migliori, Nino Tempo
Trombone: Richard "Slyde" Hyde, Lew McCreary, Dick Nash
Trumpet: Bud Brisbois, Roy Caton, Chuck Findley, Ollie Mitchell, Tony Terran
Flute: Jim Horn
Vocals: Ron Hicklin Singers often performed backup vocals on many of the same songs on which the Wrecking Crew had played instrumental tracks.
2) The Wrecking Crew was a Steve Douglas dance act active during the 1980s.
3) The Wrecking Crew was the name used by a British backing orchestra active through the 1990s and 2000s.
4) The Wrecking Crew was an American band from the core of San Diego, California’s underground punk scene. The five+piece outfit formed in late August of 2003 and brought their brand of infectious punk chaos to rabid crowds, playing countless shows and sharing the stage with notable acts such as The Adolescents, T.S.O.L., DI, The Angry Samoans, Narcoleptic Youth, Naked Aggression, The Skulls, Clit 45, The Virus, Cheap Sex, The Voids, Complete Control, The Havoc and many more.
The band possessed a raw intensity and energy that is not often created, but when it does occur, it hits with an impact that is not soon forgotten. Influenced by bands like T.S.O.L., the punk of days past, and everything the punk scene embodies, these five individuals concoct a sound and feeling that is exactly what punk is and should be, loud, aggressive and inspiring, screaming a message that is far from the candy coated, pop slathered tunes contrary to a lot of the punk of today’s standards.
Running deep with a musical background spanning only about as far as the short time these individuals have walked the earth, (the majority of the band being still in high school and the lead singer just starting college, making it that much more impressive, the level of their talent, passion and drive for what they do.
After hearing much buzz on the band and hearing the band’s self released album, Finger Records owner and president, Mel Schantz caught the band live at legendary Doll Hut in Anaheim, California opening up for T.S.O.L., and was subsequently blown away, the package was complete, a band that bring it live and in the studio! The band then teamed up with Adolescents drummer, Derek O'Brien (ex-Social Distortion, Agent Orange, DI) to record a record, with a subsequent tour opening up for the legendary T.S.OL..
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